Do not compare yourself to others.
Ten commandments & principles.
Old principles, practical wisdom, and a personal rulebook for modern life. Not as doctrine, but as a reminder: how you use your attention, your body, your word, and your trust will shape the person you become.
The modern rulebook
These ten principles were developed by me as a personal rulebook for focus, responsibility, simplicity, and integrity. Keep them close enough that they shape your decisions before you have to think twice. Thank yourself later.
Do not knowingly harm your body.
Do not waste your attention.
Create more than you consume.
Avoid permanent comfort.
Stay humble, no matter how much you know.
Take responsibility for your actions.
Keep everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.
Stand by your word.
Never exploit trust.
The classical ten commandments
A concise, traditional summary of the biblical commandments as a historical starting point for moral rules. The fourth commandment is phrased here in a common Christian form.
Have no other gods before God.
Do not make or worship idols.
Do not misuse the name of God.
Keep the Lord's Day holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not bear false witness.
Do not covet what belongs to another.
The 7 Huna principles
A compact set of Hawaiian-inspired principles often used as a practical philosophy for attention, power, and effectiveness.
The world is what you think it is.
There are no limits.
Energy flows where attention goes.
Now is the moment of power.
To love is to be happy with.
All power comes from within.
Effectiveness is the measure of truth.
Emerson's self-reliance principles
Practical ideas inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay Self-Reliance: trust your own mind, act from character, and do not let the crowd think for you.
Trust yourself
Your own honest perception matters more than borrowed opinions.
Reject conformity
Do not trade your judgment for approval from the crowd.
Speak what you see
Say what appears true to you now, even if it is uncomfortable.
Value character over status
What you are is more important than how impressive you look.
Act from within
Let your principles direct your behavior before circumstances do.
Do your own work
Original effort builds a stronger life than imitation.
Jordan Peterson's 12 rules for life
A practical summary of the twelve rules, with short explanations so the point of each rule is immediately clear.
Stand up straight with your shoulders back.
Carry yourself like someone who accepts responsibility and refuses to collapse before life begins.
Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping.
Give your own life the care, structure, and respect you would offer to someone you love.
Make friends with people who want the best for you.
Your environment shapes your standards. Choose people who pull you upward, not downward.
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.
Progress becomes possible when the benchmark is your own previous self.
Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them.
Boundaries are not cruelty. They help people become socially capable and easier to love.
Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.
Start with what you can repair in your own life before attacking everything outside it.
Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient.
Do not choose the easy short-term path if it damages the person you are becoming.
Tell the truth, or at least do not lie.
Lies distort reality. Truth keeps your life aligned with what is actually happening.
Assume the person you are listening to might know something you do not.
Real listening is a way to learn, not just a pause before your next argument.
Be precise in your speech.
Name problems clearly. Vague language makes vague problems harder to solve.
Do not bother children when they are skateboarding.
Do not remove every risk from life. Competence grows through challenge.
Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street.
Even in suffering, notice small moments of grace. They help you keep going.
Amazon's leadership principles
A practical operating system for ownership, speed, standards, and long-term responsibility. Useful far beyond business.
Customer Obsession
Start with the person you serve, then work backward from what creates real value.
Ownership
Act like the result belongs to you, even when nobody is watching.
Invent and Simplify
Improve the system, remove friction, and make useful things easier to use.
Are Right, A Lot
Build judgment through evidence, humility, and willingness to update your view.
Learn and Be Curious
Stay teachable. Curiosity compounds into better decisions.
Hire and Develop the Best
Raise the standard by helping strong people become stronger.
Insist on the Highest Standards
Do not normalize sloppy work. Make quality visible and repeatable.
Think Big
Set a direction large enough to change behavior, not just polish the obvious.
Bias for Action
Move when waiting adds no useful information. Speed is a strategic advantage.
Frugality
Constraints can sharpen thinking. Resourcefulness often beats excess.
Earn Trust
Be clear, direct, and reliable enough that people can build on your word.
Dive Deep
Understand the details before you judge the system from the surface.
Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
Challenge ideas honestly, then support the decision once the path is chosen.
Deliver Results
Focus on the outcome that matters and keep moving through resistance.
Strive to be Earth's Best Employer
Build environments where people can grow, perform, and stay human.
Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility
The more influence you have, the more carefully your decisions should be made.